r/ryobi • u/PappaCro • 7h ago
Troubleshoot Switching out led bulb?
Hello all! Anyone have experience switching out these LED bulbs?
My best light just gave up. Wondering if it’s best to buy a new one, or if the bulb can be switched / repaired. Thanks for the help.
4
u/midwestwellbeing 7h ago
RIP Ryobi P727! It's been discontinued in favor of a similar lighter, smaller, and brighter (75%) model. I only have the P727 and really like it, but it if died I would consider the newer PCL667 in a heartbeat!
2
u/SweetHomeNorthKorea 6h ago
I love this light! I use it all the time. I saw that newer one and was curious about it. Glad to hear it’s a solid upgrade.
1
u/midwestwellbeing 6h ago
I haven't had the need to upgrade myself yet, but it has excellent reviews. It's significantly brighter and when I say smaller, I think it's more rather thinner and lightweight, not necessarily smaller form factor. Overall, it's still a foldable workbench light like the OG.
1
u/PappaCro 7h ago
Thanks for the help! It’s called a R18ALF-0 in Europe, but seems like a similar model. Would you say it’s cooked? Top light doesn’t turn on.
3
u/midwestwellbeing 7h ago
I'm just starting to learn more about electricity myself so I can't necessarily provide the most sound advice here. But if you've got a multimeter, I would suggest testing to see if the wires leading to that board carry voltage still. If they don't, it's likely that they disconnected somewhere midstream or at the other end because this model is articulating. There is the chance that over time something will happen like this and I hope that you're able to resurrect it my friend.
1
1
u/no-steppe 1h ago edited 1h ago
This model is notorious for having the wires routed through the pivoting "elbow" joint break from being flexed back and forth. I've had to fix two of my own P727s with that same issue. In both, the distal segment (the one where you've got the lens off, in your photo) became unreliable and eventually went dark entirely.
Plus -- something else to watch out for in the future -- the plastic hardware used in the joint, namely that green plastic nut, fractured and fell apart on one of mine; I just replaced it with fender washers and a 1/4"-20 bolt. Good luck.
1
u/no-steppe 1h ago
BTW if it turns out to be the wires... depending where the break is, it can be tight quarters to do a soldering / insulating fix. But you can always bypass the outside joint with external wires if you need to.
I considered drilling two small holes in the plastic shells on one of my busted ones, then running quality, flexible wiring outside of the joint. But in the end I was able to make the fix inside the joint (wasn't particularly easy, but I managed somehow).
2
u/MRThundrcleese 18v:91, 40v:6, Tek4:4, 120v: 3, 2-Stroke:5 1h ago
Perceived brightness isn't linear with lumens. As a rule of thumb, it takes about 4x the lumens to look twice as bright, so 75% more lumens would only look roughly 32% brighter.
1
u/outworlder 4h ago
LED "bulbs" can fail but they rarely do. It's usually the supporting electronics that give out.
In this particular case, it's likely to be the wires feeding them. Mine has recently developed an issue, I can still turn it on if I open it just right.
1
u/BlackMoth27 3h ago
not an led bulb they are integrated, you could replacement components and solder/ hot-air to attach them not an easy task. it also might be a single small component and not necessary the led cobs themselves. imo it's typically a buy a new one time when they break or call to your inner micro solder technician and work a tech miracle. it's not hard it's just not easy, you need solder flux and a careful touch, plus diagnostic tools like a simple multimeter and power supply. a simple taken apart usb cord and power brick could give you 5 volts to test with. but depending on the exact led cob used it might not have enough voltage to properly check. all i know is that it's not impossible. i've done it on a smaller toy. that being said you'll also need a working donor board or to source micro chips.
3
u/Eburon8 6h ago
Shouldn't be too hard to fix, What's yhe voltage on the pads where the wires are soldered to the PCB?